Love For An Angel
by Lost2Paradise
Summary: When her parents' car breaks down at a small diner in the middle of nowhere what will Audrey do? Will an angel be able to pierce through the cold exterior she's built up? summary suck but basically a MichealxAudrey story. UPDATE! I have rewritten this story and will be swapping out the chapters.
1. Michael Rewrite

"It's disgusting." I could hear my mom 'whisper' as I bent over the jukebox of the shitty diner we got stuck at, looking for some sort of music I could listen to without my ears bleeding.

"You're right. It is disgusting." I could hear dad agreeing, talking even louder than she had. They were always so discreet. I ignored them, any embarrassment I may have felt knowing everyone in the diner could hear them gone now. I knew wearing things like this; a short, tight, leather skirt and a halter that exposed my midriff and new belly ring, would bother them. It was why I wore them.

"Really, how can she go out in public looking like that?" Mom asked both my father and herself.

"I don't know, why don't we ask her?" Dad's suggestion sparked an idea, as well a small glass-like shard of hope, which I pushed down immediately, readying a smart-ass comment for when he asked.

"Howard don't, you'll embarrass me." Mom nearly whined. Oh how her true colors show. She wasn't at all worried that the question would embarrass me, just herself. I couldn't help the scoff that made it's way past my lips.

"Audrey, honey?" Dad was addressing me. He had the worst habit of calling me honey, no matter who was around. "Your mother was wondering if you got dressed this morning with the specific intention of showing you ass off to the world?" The question shocked me. Not because of the content, but who it was coming from. Dad was always the calm one, the mediator. Perhaps mom was finally rubbing off on him. My planned retort died on my lips and I scrambled to think of a new one.

"It's because I woke up hoping to get double teamed by a couple of meth-head truckers in some bathroom of a desert shithole. It's good that we got stuck here." I finally managed, not waiting for a response before turning back to sort through the rest of the 'music' in the jukebox.

"I feel satisfied with that answer. I really do." I could hear him comment in a lower voice. I was glad he was satisfied with it, because I certainly wasn't. Frustrated at the situation, I gave up my search and sat down at a corner booth, far away from my parents. I ignored the rest of their conversation, pulling out my iPod and trying in vain to squeeze out just a little more battery life from it. I heard the bell over the door ring, and looked over to see the waitress and some black dude come in.

"Who is that?" Mom snapped, watching the new guy come in, as if he was responsible for our delay.

"What do you want me to do?" Dad asked, sounding tired of her behavior. She always overreacted.

"Talk to him! Things should have been ready two hours ago!" She snapped at him. I couldn't see why she didn't just talk to him herself if it mattered so much to her. Dad got up with a sigh, making his way over to where the owner was talking to the new guy, interrupting them both rudely. Yeah, my mother was rubbing off on him.

"Excuse me, is there any news about when out car might be fixed? You said your boy would have us back on the road two hours ago. The rate we're going, we'll be lucky to make it to Scottsdale by Christmas." Dad had at least started out nice, but as always, ended up sounding like mom. The owner left, and a few minutes later I could see him out by the gas pumps with the mechanic, arguing about something. After a few minutes Bob came back inside, the mechanic disappearing again.

"He's about this close to wrapping it up." he said, pinching his fingers close together to indicate how little time we had left to wait. I wasn't convinced, but he just walked away, going to fix the TV.

I let my mind wander as he abused the TV, only snapping out of it when a high pitched ringing began to echo throughout the room. I looked up and the screen read 'THIS IS NOT A TEST'.

"Clear as day." The owner, Bob, announced proudly, getting down from the chair he'd apparently used to reach the TV properly.

"What the hell is that?" someone asked.

"Well, they're testing something." Bob said stupidly as everyone paid more attention to it.

"That doesn't look like a test." The waitress, Charlie her nametag read, sounded skeptical of Bob's assessment. 

"Can I just use the phone?" he black dude asked, handing Bob a twenty. He took it and gave him directions, still staring at the TV. The sound was actually starting to get a little unnerving.

"Excuse me but if this were an actual emergency, wouldn't they be giving us instructions on what to do?" Mom actually had a point that time, I think. The cook, Percy, checked his radio. All stations were the same ringing noise. It was even creepier coming from two places, seeming to surround us. They went on about how it could be an earthquake, I suggested terrorists.

"Oh God!" Mom cried out, overreacting as usual. They all began fighting amongst themselves, and as I watched, I saw real fear in their eyes, their words, their actions. I began to feel bad about my terrorist joke, because really, who knew? It could be some terrible disaster that knocked out the signal and killed who knows how many people. I began to feel a shiver of fear go up my spine, like something bad was about to happen. Just then Bob cut through my thoughts, shouting over everyone and getting our attention.

"For crying out loud, there's no use speculating! I'll just call my brother up in needles, he'll probably know something." It sounded logical, and having a plan and a possible source of information calmed me down somewhat. Just then the black guy, Kyle I think Charlie called him, walked back in.

"I don't think so." he stated a bit ominously. Bob asked him what he meant. "I was just on the phone, the shit cut off in the middle of my conversation. I want my money back." he told him. The tension in the air somewhat cleared even while it thickened. I almost laughed. No connection to the outside world, and all he can think about is getting his money back? Then again, I guess I would too. Percy intervened again and we were assured out car would be ready in a few minutes. It was almost believable, but I got another shiver down my spine that said otherwise, that warned me we weren't leaving anytime soon.

I shook my head, trying to dismiss it as my imagination playing tricks on me, but the feeling lingered. Not long after, the bell above the door rang again and I heard a thump on the floor. My head jerked up, a rush of alarm shooting through me, spiking my adrenaline. Then I saw that the noise was made by a little old lady with a walker. She reminded me of my own grandmother, who was always a source of warmth in my life. Who would bake me cookies and kiss my scrapes, and keep my secrets. I relaxed, despite the feeling that still hadn't gone away. Charlie took her order, then she leaned over a bit to talk to my parents.

"Hello." She said, voice soft and merry, cracking just slightly with age. "I'm Gladys, Gladys Foster." she introduced herself. Mom, as always trying to make herself seem like a nice person, introduced herself and dad to Gladys.

"What a nice looking young couple. What brings you up to these parts?" She wanted to know. I was expecting to hear a tirade about how we broke down and the mechanic isn't doing his job, but instead she continued on in her 'nice' voice.

"We're on our way to Scottsdale., but our car broke down and we're stuck here until it's fixed." There was just a hint of sourness in her voice to give away how annoyed she was by the situation.

"What a nuisance." Gladys commented airily, smile still in place. It was an appropriate comment for the situation but something about it seemed off. I shook myself, more firmly this time. There was NOTHING strange or intimidating about this woman, I had no reason to dislike her, I was just being paranoid. Mom just smiled back.

"Gladys, the lines seem to be down around here, the phone and the TV… and I was just wondering if you might have heard something on your way up, about what's going on." Mom changed the subject, which I was glad for. It got my mind off my paranoia, and onto relevant matters. It didn't last long.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, sweetheart. It'll all be over soon." She seemed suddenly a lot less grandmotherly, making me scoot back in my seat.

"O-kay." Even Mom sounded weirded-out. I did my best to ignore her, even managing to get one last song out of my iPod before it died again. I was just puling out my ear buds when Charlie began to yell.

"What did you just say!?" Gladys was still smiling beatifically.

"I said your fucking baby's gonna burn!" Her voice turned darker, as if tainted by something.

"Go to hell lady!" Charlie growled, throwing her notepad down and almost running off. Mom tried to gain her attention, maybe to ask what was going on. Gladys' head snapped towards her, and in the same voice, she spoke again.

"Shut up you stupid fucking cunt! All you do is complain, complain, complain!" Despite the seriousness of the situation, I had to laugh at that. She had mom pegged perfectly. This, however, upset dad.

"What?" He asked, turning towards her further, as if he couldn't believe someone would actually admit the truth about his wife. "What? What?" he repeated it, working himself up enough to get up and walk over.

"Harold, no…" Mom 'tried' to get him to calm down. He ignored her.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are," he began, finally reaching the table Gladys sat at. "but I'd like you to apologize to my…" She overrode him.

"You're all going to fucking die!" Her eyes bled into a total black, and in an instant she rose, tearing into dad's throat with her teeth. She pulled away with a chunk of bloody flesh in her mouth, spitting it out casually to the side. I couldn't believe what was happening in front of me. I was frozen stiff, to shocked to move, until she began to approach my booth. I found it in myself to slip down to the floor and crawl away. She didn't bother with me, just jumped up on the table and began scaling the wall all the way up to the ceiling.

"What the fuck man!?" Kyle shouted. I just closed my eyes, crawling back under the booth's table, and hoped it would all go away.

"Shoot her jeep!" Bob's shout drew me out enough to pry my eyes open, only to see the mechanic, Jeep, with a shotgun. He looked too shaky by half, and he squeezed his eyes closed even as his finger twitched on the trigger, straining to find the courage to pull it.

"You will never save her!" Gladys shouted, voice unrecognizable now. She seemed to slide at a fast rate towards Jeep, hands outstretched and miming strangulation.

"Shoot that bitch!" Someone yelled,

"Shoot her!" Bob was frantic now, as were the others. She was closing in on him, and he was the one with the gun. If we lost it, we were done for.

"Shoot her!" A single gunshot rang out, but not from Bob's shotgun. Gladys dropped, revealing Kyle, his arm outstretched and a silver plated western arms .45 gripped firmly in his hand.

"Somebody help me!" My mom's voice drew my attention over to her, and to my dad who lay on the floor, slowly bleeding out. Panic rose in me again and I scrambled over, hitting my head on the table in my haste. Kyle got to him just after me, kneeling down and pressing mom's hand into dad's neck. I looked at him incredulously, mom accusingly.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm trying to help. Calm down. Keep pressure on his neck. Easy." he ordered. After a moment he removed his scarf, bunching it up and pressing it to dad's neck. We came to the general conclusion that he needed to get to a hospital. Immediately. Kyle led us to his truck, and everyone but Jeep and Bob piled in. As soon as the door closed behind us he took off, quickly accelerating to 80mph.

"How far is the hospital?" he asked, barely glancing over his shoulder at us.

"I don't know. 70, maybe 80 miles." Percy informed us. Kyle looked doubtful.

"80 miles?" he picked up even more speed. I spotted something dark down the road, getting closer, like a wall of black sand.

"What the hell is that?" I asked no one in particular. Kyle answered, foot still on the gas, speeding right towards it.

"It's clouds, what do you think they are?" As we grew closer I began to hear a strange buzzing.

"Clouds don't buzz!" someone shouted just before flies began streaming in through the vents, filling the car, making it hard to breathe. The car swerved a bit before Kyle slammed on the breaks, and turned us back towards the diner. The trip back seemed twice as long as we attempted to breathe past the flies that seemed to fill every free inch of air in the van. We all ran to get inside the moment the van stopped. Bob waited outside to hear what had happened. None of us stopped to talk, but he grabbed Percy on his way past.

"Gonna get my bible!" Was the only explanation he offered. Bob was clearly confused. "Somebody's got to start praying." he reasoned. From the van I went straight to my corner booth, away from everyone and curled up, hugging my knees to my chest, trying to calm down. The men looked over 'Gladys's' body again before wrapping her up and dragging her outside. Secretly I hoped they were chopping her to bits, and burning them. After a while though, they retuned. I noticed immediately that they didn't smell like smoke, and they weren't covered in blood. So ended my little fantasy.

It seemed that just as my heart rate returned to normal, Charlie seemed to see something and ran outside. I jumped up, pulse skyrocketing once more. What could she have seen that would possibly convince her to go outside with the cloud of flies and people who ripped other peoples' throats out? I peered out the window cautiously, as was everyone else, and saw an LAPD cruiser pulling up. Usually I hated cops, police corruption being what it was, but for once I was glad.

The car skidded to a smooth halt nearly twenty feet from where Kyle, Bob, Jeep and Charlie stood. The door opened and someone stepped out. The sun glinted through the window, making it hard to see, but what I could see was Bob training a shotgun on them. The idiot was about to shoot a cop, potentially our only source of information. I remembered Gladys and rethought my position.

I blinked and the gun was in the new arrival's hands, pressed against Bob's head. Everyone froze, tense, wondering what would happen. I realized the man, which I could clearly see that he was now, was not wearing a uniform. After a moment he handed the gun back to Bob and went around to the police cruiser's trunk. Figuring it was safe for the moment, as no one was shot or bitten, I walked out slowly, mom following close behind.

"What's happening?" I asked as I pushed through the front door of the diner. A face, grim but beautiful, filled my vision for a moment and all but stole my breath away. The stranger passed me with the barest brush of his shoulder, and I could feel the heat emanating from him.

"Better get back inside." he whispered low as he disappeared from my line of vision. I struggled briefly to regain composure as I followed both his suggestion and the man himself.


	2. Sympathy For A Sinner Rewrite

Without even an introduction, the man somehow organized us to block the doors with anything heavy we could find before nightfall. The fear of what was out there, I think, kept us unquestioning for a while. Aside from fear, though, was a natural sense of leadership and knowing about this man. He seemed to know what was going on, somehow, and had a plan for it.

When the doors were blocked, we began boarding the bigger windows. I took the chance to get a closer look at who was likely out best chance at survival. I walked a little closer, trying to decide how to ask him what he knew without sounding accusatory, when the lights went out.

I just barely held back a girlish scream, cause I'm sure that would have helped the situation oh so much. Flashlights flickered on around me and Bob centered in on the man, Michael.

"Ok. We locked in here, so what the fuck we do now?" Kyle questioned the room. Michael looked up, revealing more of the tattoo on his neck that I had noticed on his hands and forearms as well. For a moment I wondered how much of his body it encompassed. I shook the thought away as Bob lead us over to a ladder and hatch on the roof.

Kyle, Percy, Bob, and Michael all went up on the roof. I, as a woman, was of course stuck down in the diner. I glanced at my mom, who was still taking care of dad. I couldn't quite look at him. A lie formed on my tongue almost naturally.

"Hey mom, I'm going to go find a bathroom, ok?" She didn't give any kind of sign that she had heard me, like all she saw was dad. I turned away and treaded quietly to the ladder. Charlie glanced at me on my way past, but she didn't say anything. I climbed slowly and carefully, so as not to make any noise. I stopped at the top, just peeking my head out.

"Alright, Rambo. You got us up here. You mind telling us what we're fighting?" someone bitched. The comment went unacknowledged as Percy held up a hand.

"Listen. You hear what I'm hearing?" he asked. Someone asked what it was. They listened closer. "Sounds almost like…" Percy trailed.

"Ice cream? Can't be fucking serious, right?" Kyle interjected. Michael looked over his shoulder briefly and his eyes caught mine. He gave me a short look that said all too clearly 'get back inside' then turned his attention back to his gun, explaining it to the others.

"There's a safety switch on the side of your weapon. Push it all the way down, two clicks." I heard as I climbed back down. I didn't need to hear it, I already knew how to operate a both machine and sub-machine guns. What I didn't know, what how he had heard me. Without really thinking about it, I sat down next to my parents. I automatically regretted it, the sour smell of blood thickly coating the air around us, my father's blood.

"Audrey honey, listen. It's the ice cream man." my mother informed me in a strangely soft voice. She was looking at me like she used to when I was little. Another jagged shard of hope fitted itself into my heart. A noise made me look up.

A German looking man pretty much crawled out of the truck. He looked pretty normal, almost like he was sleep-walking, until he sniffed the air and his head snapped directly towards the guys on the roof. My breath hitched at the sudden change, and an awareness of my own stupidity filled me.

What if someone up there got hurt? What if he just crawls up there and slaughters them all? I asked myself, accused myself, wondering why I wasn't up there myself. I had shot the kinds of guns they were using, which was more than could be said about half of the men on the roof.

Limbs lengthened horrifically and his jaw unhinged, stretched, to nearly a foot long. A few rounds were squeezed off, hitting the now deformed ice cream man, and dropping him. He twitched once and someone shot him a couple more times, just to be safe. I sighed in relief, just as more lights appeared in the distance. They were headlights, lots and lots of headlights. A weight formed in my chest and, for the second time that day, I struggled for breath.

The guys on the roof lit them up as soon as they were in range, but there were too many. They reached the diner and got out of their cars, slowly advancing. The gunfire that had momentarily ceased, started up again. I caught myself rocking back and forth and forced myself to stop. I couldn't afford to fall apart now.

Something broke through the window, boards and all, and I couldn't hold back a scream. Nothing happened for a few frozen moments, and we all raised our heads to look around. Suddenly, dad wasn't there anymore. He was being dragged towards the broken window by something I didn't even have time to process.

Mom cried out dad's name, and I found myself running. Mom caught him just before he disappeared out the window, but something still had a hold of him. A teen, a girl somewhere around my age, appeared back in the window.

"See what you made me do mother?" it yelled, voice demented, and resumed dragging him out. Charlie, Jeep, and I all tried to pull him back in, but something grabbed Charlie's arm.

"There you are." it announced, as if it had been looking for her, specifically. Out of nowhere, silver flashed, and the thing's hand was severed. Michael stood near us, bloodied blade in hand. In panic and surprise, everyone else had let go of dad. The thing pulled him easily from my grasp. He disappeared out the window and into the night. Mom nearly jumped out after him. I pulled her back, wanting to do the same myself, but seeing the two machine guns now in Michaels hands. Jeep and I got her out of the way, and Michael shot up the window.

Whatever was out there was dead now, my father likely along with them. Mom raced to the door, trying to pry it open. Michael caught her as she removed a chair from the blockade.

"Let me go! He's alive! He's out there!" she yelled frantically. Michael literally carried her under one arm as she struggled, and set her down near me.

"He's out there." she tried again, attempting to get past him. He blocked her, making her look at him directly.

"He's gone." he announced simply. The words struck the shard inside me, shattering it and sending small bits of shrapnel into every corner of my heart. I was vaguely aware of mom sinking to the floor as the news hit her. I stared straight ahead, both trying to wrap my head around it and trying not to. People moved around us, but for a while it was just us in our little island of grief. Other things came back in stages. Bits and pieces of things being said between Michael and Jeep mainly. There was the sound of someone on the ladder.

"We've got them running!" Kyle announced, then paused. "What happened?" he asked. Finally I looked up to see Percy just getting off the ladder as well. Everyone was gathered near the center of the main diner.

"Someone needs to be on the roof." Michael ordered. Percy started back up the ladder, but Bob held him back.

"Hold on, you better start talking." he told Michael. Even still slightly adrift, I knew that was stupid. Someone did need to be on the roof. We didn't need him for this discussion, and he could be informed of all that was said later. My mind began to focus more on the situation as the scene unfolded in front of me.

Michael gathered us all in back, around the island counter containing the remaining weapons. He looked them over as he began his explanation.

"The last time God lost faith in man, he sent a flood. This time, he sent what you see outside." he began, quite oddly. Percy wanted to know if this was the apocalypse. "I'm saying it's an extermination." he clarified. "Those things outside are just vessels. They're possessed. The weakest willed are the easiest to turn." he told us. Kyle was skeptical.

"Possessed by what? Demons?" he half-joked. The fire in Michael's eyes dimmed a little, and though his face remained hard, his eyes looked sad.

"No. No, by Angels." Michael admitted. Percy, who himself was religious, protested saying that Angels were the good guys. The truth, Michael told us, was never that simple.

"Bullshit. I'm no pastor, but I've never heard of no ice cream man, or old lady eating raw meat, jumping on the ceiling with baby teeth. So I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." he ranted. A small smile stretched my face, despite the seriousness of the situation. I was beginning to see the type of person Kyle was.

It was quiet for a moment. Jeep looked confused.

"Hold on. How do you know so much about them?" he asked. Michael paused, looking at each of us, his eyes burning into mine as he paused on me.

"Because until last night, I was on their side." he confessed. It took a second was it to register in my mind, but when it did I realized I believed him. Hell, I would probably believe him if he said he was an arch- my mind grinded to a halt. Two and two went together in my mind and made four. Michael, the archangel. And why not? It wasn't as if the things outside were human either. Jeep seemed to get it next, surprising since he seemed just a bit slow.

"So you're saying you-" Bob cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yesterday I was fucking Santa Claus. You know this is crazy, right? I mean…I don't even believe in God." he shouted, addressing us all. I wondered what made him so sure, and what made him so elemental in whether God existed or not.

"Well that's just fine Bob, he doesn't believe in you either. He doesn't believe in any of this anymore." Michael spoke coolly, but there was pain in his eyes. It seemed he was taking this 'extermination' harder than any of the rest of us, though he didn't openly show it. Percy began freaking out in his corner.

"Oh I knew this day was coming, I just didn't think I'd be around to see it." he muttered. Bob scoffed, asserting that Angels and possessed people weren't real. I wanted to shout at him, to try to get things through his thick skull, but Percy beat me to it. "Have you looked outside Bob? Those people aren't exactly out regular customers!" It seemed to shut Bob up for the moment, and we all fell silent, thinking. Something occurred to me that I knew I probably wouldn't like the answer to, but had to ask anyway.

"So, are you here to protect us?" I queried. Once more, those beautiful and pained eyes, met mine. I wondered why he seemed so deeply sad. He offered a nearly non-existent sympathetic smile.

"No, not you, her." Michael nodded to Charlie. A lump formed in my throat as everyone's heads swiveled towards her. She at least had the decency to look confused, even somewhat humbled.

"Me? Why me?" Charlie wanted to know, as did we all. Michael glanced down to her swollen belly, eyes full of awe. I wondered if he hadn't had something to do with the unborn baby being there.

"Because your child is the only hope humanity has of survival." he spoke in a somber tone, laced with no small amount of hope. As terrifying as that sounded, it calmed me slightly. He was probably ordered by God to protect it then, right? Then there should be backup or something on the way, right? Somehow I doubted the last. Maybe even the first.

His claim also had a negative side, thought. If he was ordered to protect the baby, then we really didn't matter. We were only being given blanket protection, but were expendable when it came down to it. I didn't like the thought, but then, what were we to an Angel? Bob had made it clear that he didn't believe in God, neither did my parents. Kyle, I had picked up on, was convicted of something, Percy had killed people in the war. I wasn't sure about Jeep, but I knew that I myself had done any number of damning things.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Charlie.

"I'm nobody. I'm just a waitress. I don't even own a car." she protested. It was like she was trying to get him to pick someone else. It didn't seem to phase Michael.

"None of that matters anymore. Either your child lives, or mankind dies." he announced simply. He made it seem almost easy, but we were all aware how hard it would be.

"So we're supposed to hold those things off until the baby gets here?" Kyle seemed overwhelmed. Michael confirmed it, hands busy assembling some guns and checking the ammo supply.

"I'm only eight months pregnant." Charlie dropped the bombshell. Everyone but Michael seemed to blank at the statement.

"This can't be happening, man." someone commented, most likely Kyle.

"How are we supposed to survive here a month?" that, from mom. Michael's eyes gave me the answer before he said it.

"We don't have to." he said. Charlie stared at her bulge, as if she'd already known.

"It's coming soon isn't it?" she asked anyway. Michael nodded.

"Yes. Listen. I simply don't care what you people believe. And those things outside, they don't care either. They just want the child dead. Now, this first attack was a test of our strength. The next will be a test of our weakness. Now we can sit here and discuss it…or you can try to help me. But believe me, something much worse is on the way." he ended ominously, and went to resume boarding up the windows.

Everyone scattered to do their own things. Kyle and Percy went back to the roof while mom sat catatonic. Bob made a steak, and Charlie went to rest. I opted to join Jeep and Michael in boarding up the windows. I picked one near the storage closet where the two were working. It was cowardly, but I wanted to stick close to others. There was safety in numbers, right? Especially when one was an Angel?

After a while I heard voices from the closet. I knew the silence could last only so long, but I missed it slightly anyway. It felt like time stood still when things were quiet, as if the silence created a protective barrier so long as it was kept. I couldn't help but overhear Jeep and Michael talking.

"So what did you do? Before you came here." Jeep asked the Angel.

"I was a soldier. A General in His army." Michael answered, and I noted the past tense. He 'was' in His army? I realized then that it wouldn't have made sense for God to send one of his foremost Angels to protect us, when he was exterminating the entire population.

"What changed? What made you leave?" Jeep asked again. There was no pause or hesitance in Michael's answer.

"I was given an order I didn't believe in. He lost faith, I didn't." Even with the statement being what it was, I didn't hear any disrespect or ill will towards 'Him' or in other words, God. Jeep seemed to be taking it in.

"How come you still have faith? I mean, seems like everything I have faith in cost me nothing but trouble." he shared. And there was difference number one between Jeep and I. It wasn't his accent, or where he was raised, or his beliefs. It was that he stuck by the things he believed in when things got hard. I gave up, while he persevered.

Michael sighed, like an adult about to explain something to a child, which could very much be accurate. Did Angel's even age?

"When God chose your kind as the object of his love, I was the first in all of Heaven to bow down before you." his statement answered my question. I seemed they didn't age.

"My love, my hope for mankind was no less than his." His words, created a small seed of warmth that grew in my chest. Mankind included everyone didn't it? Even the sinners? For a moment I could swear I could feel his eyes on me.

"But I have watched you trample that gift." he continued. There was always a 'but' wasn't there? The warmth died in my chest, leaving nothing but the cold I knew so well. I was a fool to hope I was anything but an abomination in the eyes of those above. Michael's shadow disappeared from the wall in front of me.

"I've watched you kill each other over race and greed, and wage war over dust, rubble and words in old books." Even though I didn't fit into the waging war group knew I had trampled the gift just as much. "And yet in the midst of all this darkness I see some people who will not be bowed. I see some people who will not give up." he seemed to be almost talking specifically about Jeep now but I couldn't be sure. "Even when they know all hope is lost."

He seemed so impassioned, so convinced as he talked of the good points of humanity that even us humans question sometimes. "Some people, who realize that being lost is so close to being found." My heart jerked, and I was surprised at the vehemence of my thoughts. I wanted to be found. I wanted to be found so badly. I didn't want to continue living in this terrible cold.

I had never really wanted to be a bad daughter, or a bad person. I had just wanted mom and dad to pay attention to me. I wanted them to care about what I did. I realized at that moment how childish I had been. I realized that because of that childishness, my last words to my father had been words of scorn. A tear made its way down my cheek and I could do nothing to stop it. It was quickly followed by another, and I tried desperately to keep them back.

"I see you Jeep. Fifteen years old, your mother leaves you, your father withdraws from the world. And you spend the next five years of your young life helping him find his way home." Even though Jeep had it worse then me he still believes, he still tries to be as good of a person as he can. How did he do it? Michael continued without pause.

"You love a woman, who has the child of another, and you love her with no thought of yourself. Even though you know she may never love you the way you love her. You, Jeep. You are the reason I still have faith." he concluded for him. I realized as I heard him walking out of the closet, and inevitably towards me, that I was still crying. I tried to stop and wipe the tears off as quickly as possible, but I knew it would still be apparent I'd been crying. Michael paused a ways away.

"It's almost time for the next shift." he told Jeep and continued towards the window he'd been working on to finishing boarding it. His window was only ten or so feet from my own and so I tried to keep my head turned away so he wouldn't see. Soon the pace of his hammer slowed a bit, and I couldn't help but look over.

Michael seemed to be on autopilot, his eyes distant as if he was remembering something. I observed him occasionally as I continued to work. His expression changed several times from content, to pained, to sad, and a handful of other emotions. I shook myself and left him to his thoughts, working to finish my window double time. Michael seemed to snap out of whatever reverie he was in too, because his pace increased then stopped after a while.

He carried his excess boards over to the window next to mine and set them down. He kept walking till he was right next to me, and held up the board I'd been having problems keeping up while hammering.

Feeling the hear coming from his as his side nearly touched mine, and remembering the things I'd been thinking on not minutes before, I got it secured as quick as I could. I still tried to keep him from seeing my face.

When I was done, he stepped back and looked at me dead on. I couldn't help but meet his gaze.

"You know." Michael began, his eyes not judging at all, though from what I'd heard him say to Jeep, I was almost sure he knew exactly what kind of person I was.

"Crying is nothing to be ashamed of, especially with good reason." he gave me a small smile and rested his hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture.

It was more kindness than I expected to get, as a sinner, and I nearly felt that seed of warmth try to grow again. I squashed it down before it could hurt me again, but could not keep the warmth from my voice as I thanked him. Michael only nodded and headed back for the storage closet.

"You should get some rest. It's early dawn." he suggested. I would have tried to disagree and continue working, but for the deep exhaustion weighing on my body and mind.

"You probably should as well. There's someone on the roof, and you've no doubt had a longer day that any of us." I returned, not sure if I had assumed too much, but he looked tired. He raised a brow.

"Alright. I'll get some rest as soon as I'm finished with this last window." he approved. I smiled and said goodnight, satisfied with his answer. I found my mom sleeping in a heap in a nearly empty room, blankets folded next to her. I spread them out, and lowered her onto them, before laying down next to her. That night I dreamed of Michael and the fate of mankind.


	3. Truth and Lies Rewrite

My mother's voice woke me some time around noon.

"Howard?" she called, confused, hopeful. My heart squeezed painfully, knowing soon she would remember that he was gone and not coming back.

"Howard." The next cry didn't sound as pained as I thought it would be. It actually sounded relieved. I felt her get up from next to me, and turned to watch as she made her way across the hall to Bob's office.

"Howard!" It was a shout now as she ran for the far side of the room, nothing but a chair and desk blocking the back door. I realized through my horror that she was making a break for it, already moving the chair out of the way. I scrambled to disentangle myself from the blanket and stand, crawling towards her already as I finally freed myself.

Her shout had attracted more than just me to the room, as Kyle reached the doorway just before me. He grabbed mother around the waist, trying to pry her away from the desk. With more strength than I knew she had, she backhanded him out of her way. Kyle went sprawling on the floor, and I didn't hesitate to take his place.

"Mom, what are you doing? Stop!" I grabbed her arms, trying frantically to think of something to get her to stop. My brain rebelled, stranding me, as she tried desperately to throw me off her.

"Your father is alive!" she tried to convince me, and as much as I wished it was true, I knew it wasn't.

"He's not, mom." my voice cracked as I said it, and it felt as if something inside me cracked as well.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, finally breaking free. In her heated rush to get to the door, I was smacked aside as well. It seemed like forever I sat frozen, flat on my ass, staring at my mother. In all my life, no matter what I had done, neither she nor dad had raised a hand to me.

Kyle had just stood again when she got the door open. I rose carefully, feeling curiously light and fragile. Percy nearly bowled me over as he passed, chasing out the door after mom. I looked out as he ran her down, catching her around the middle, and nearly bolted out myself.

Just outside, not twenty feet from the door and tied to a cross, hung my father. He was covered in boils, and screaming, but alive. My mind screamed at me, telling me it was a trap, and I knew I was right, but it still took all my strength to stay where I was.

Kyle hauled my mother in, kicking and screaming, and just as they reached the door my father…exploded. Kyle had my mom faced the other way, shielded from the aftermath, as well as the image itself. I was not so lucky.

One moment my father was there, the next, every boil swelled and burst open, taking all of his body with it.

My eyes finally wandered back to Percy and mom, both of whom were curiously still. My mother only looked at the floor, weeping, as Percy stared blankly ahead. There was something wrong

"Percy?" a voice called from behind me, and only then did I realize that others had joined us. As if on cue, Percy collapsed, his back and exposed ribs coming into sight. He was dead, whatever acid-like substance dad had exploded into, taking its toll on the former soldier.

There were voices around me, none of which really registered until everyone began to move around me. Bob began blocking the door again, as Jeep and Kyle took a hold of my mom. I realized that she was a threat to everyone there, and would need to be locked away. I followed them, seeing how I could help. As they tied her up, Jeep told me that there were sleeping pills in the kitchen, and that he was told we should give her a couple.

I turned away from my despondent mother readily, making my way to the kitchen to find the pills. It was the work of a few seconds to locate a glass, some water, and a straw, once I reached the kitchen. The bottle of prescription sleep aids were tucked into a corner. I shook out two and replaced the bottle, looking down at the innocent white tabs in my hand.

Images ran through my head, the last ten minutes of my life searing themselves into my memory, playing and replaying behind my eyelids. When a hand was placed gently on my shoulder, I started, but didn't have to look to know it was Michael. His unusual warmth scorched me, and I realized suddenly just how cold I felt.

"I'm sorry Audrey. You shouldn't have had to see that." he apologized, moving to lean on the counter next to me. I shook my head, the movement feeling oddly detached, as if it wasn't actually me moving.

"You don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault…it was mine." I admitted. Michael's gaze zeroed in on my eyes, and I had to look away.

"You believe that? This is not your fault, it isn't anyone's. This was a test of our weaknesses, and you did well with the situation you were given." His words warded off the chill for a moment, and I realized I still needed to get back to mom. She would need me. Somehow I got the courage to meet those grey-green eyes again.

"I still could have done more, but thank you. I have to go…sedate her now." it was hard saying it, and harder still to let the gratitude I felt into my voice. Harder yet, was breaking eye contact and leaving the safety of that room. I didn't want to face my mother, didn't want to have to drug her, but it was something I had to do. I opened myself to the cold I'd been trying to stave off, and entered the main room.

I approached her straight on, walking slowly and calmly.

"Here mom. If you take these, you'll feel better." I did my best to keep my voice smooth and low, calming. I think if I had raised my voice any, it would have cracked. Still, she nodded, barely looking at me and took the pills and water passively. She swallowed, and after a short silence, began speaking.

"This is your fault." she said plainly. It wasn't an accusation, but a statement of fact. It left me reeling. It was one thing to blame myself, but to hear my own mother blaming me for dad's death…was enormously painful.

"We were only here because of you. We sacrificed everything, for you." she admitted. My mind rebelled.

"No. You wanted to go. You said you wanted to go." I denied. She just looked at me with an unfeeling sneer.

"I loved my house. I loved my life, and you ruined it. You ruined everything! Everything!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Things began to piece together in my head, even as I tried to deny it. I don't know what she would have said next, and I didn't want to hear It. Kyle stepped in at that moment, and honestly I could have hugged him for it.

"Enough! You just gonna sit here and torture your daughter?" he asked disbelievingly before switching to a somewhat softer tone,

"Can you come help me find a station that works?" He asked me. I took one last look at my mother before getting up and going to the radio. I went station by station to try to find a signal, glad to have something to do that would occupy my mind. I wasn't sure I could handle dwelling on my mother's words at the moment. Not so soon after what had happened…

Garbled words disrupted my thoughts, and I stopped the dial, adjusting slightly.

"Guys, you've got to take a look at this! I'm hearing something." I called out, looking up at the room's occupants. Their heads swiveled to the radio as I turned up the volume.

"If you're hearing my voice, we're getting the first bits of good news since this Apocalypse began, nearly forty-eight hours ago. A militia has formed on the outskirts of Las Vegas and has begun to engage those affected. Getting unconfirmed reports of other militias gathering in Death Valley, Zion, and Red Ridge National Park." a man's voice announced. I couldn't believe it.

"Red Ridge, that's like an hour from here!" Charlie stated, pointing in its general direction. My spirits raised, but then I remembered the flies.

"Does that mean we can leave?" I still had to ask. Michael looked like he wanted to wince.

"No. We're not going anywhere." he informed us. I looked away, trying my best to hide my disappointment. I didn't bother arguing, knowing he wouldn't change his mind. The others however…

"I don't know about you, white boy, but I gotta get out of here." Kyle said, getting up angrily. Michael stared him down, and he took his seat again.

"I won't risk being on the move when the baby comes. It's too dangerous." he reiterated for them.

"Dangerous? What the fuck you mean, too dangerous?" Kyle asked again. Michael didn't bother to answer.

"May God give us strength to survive, and have mercy for those who are already lost." The radio guy said, and was gone. Everyone split up to do their own thing, and I took next watch with Kyle. I would have done anything to get away from my mother just then, even face a zombie-like hoard of possessed people.

Kyle stood next to me as I held an MP-5, aiming it at nothing down below.

"So now you just have to…" Kyle began, and I cut him off with a smirk.

"Push the safety catch down, two clicks, all the way down. I dated a marine last summer. He was kind of a gun freak. My parents hated him." I confessed, scanning the desert in front of me for any of the possessed.

"I bet they did," Kyle affirmed. I lowered the gun a bit, mind flashing back to earlier.

"My mom was right. It is my fault we are here." I told him. Kyle looked shocked, and instantly denied that she meant it. It was a nice thought, but I knew the truth when I heard it.

"It's true. The only reason why we're moving is because of me." I took my hand from the gun to wipe away a single angry tear and laughed humorlessly.

"They thought my friends were a bad influence. But I was the bad influence. 'So really fucked up." I admitted. He took the gun back and stared out into the darkness for a minute.

"When I was a shorty, the only time my old man ever gave me attention was when I did something bad. So you know what I did, right?" he asked. I knew, but asked anyway.

"I got really good at being bad." we both laughed at that.

"Problem is," he added, sobering up,

"when you get older, when you have a family, being bad is not so good." he told me. I could see that, you couldn't go around robbing banks when you had a baby. I shook my head.

"Thanks Kyle, I-" the lights suddenly flickered back on and stayed, making the surrounding area seem darker. Kyle drew me behind him.

"Better go downstairs." Kyle said. I protested against my better judgment.

"Get downstairs." he ordered again as I stayed static.

"No. I can handle it." I insisted. He gave me his pistol, 'just in case' and told me to get ready. A car that I had noticed coming closer, stopped at the gas pumps, and I middle aged man got out. He began to fill up the tank. My finger eased off the trigger, and I couldn't remember when it had gotten there.

"Wait a minute. Kyle, are they…?" More lights began heading our way rapidly, cars full of rocker possessed. We realized too late that it was a trap, and soon the man had been run down. The young boy inside the car pounded against the window, terrified. Kyle began shooting into them, hoping to pick off a few.

"Don't, you're going to hit him too!" I yelled, pushing down his barrel and burning my hand in the process. Kyle took one look at me, and jumped off the roof. He began cutting a swathe through the possessed. He actually made it to the child and grabbed him. There was something not right.

The boy wasn't bawling, and the possessed hadn't made any real move on him yet. I knew what was wrong as soon as the boy lifted his head from Kyle's neck, revealing black eyes. He tore out Kyle's throat.

"Kyle!" I screamed, feet hitting the ground almost before I realized I had jumped down after him. I shot down anything between me and the child, intent on painting pictures with his blood.

I had my gun pressed to his head within a minute. I pulled the trigger, and heard nothing but a weak click. I tried to shoot again and again. The child grinned as he realized how screwed I was. I dashed for the closest shelter, the car. I launched myself in and locked all the doors, not that they would hold for long.

Possessed covered the car, banging against the glass and making cracks everywhere. I couldn't hold back the tears that made their way down my face. I knew this was the end, game over. I only wished I could say I was sorry, say goodbye to my mom, do something to take a few more of these bastards with me. I was about to get out of the car, try to take them on with nothing but my fists, when I heard gunfire again.

Some of the possessed surrounding the car launched themselves away, and I saw Michael. He was striding forward calmly, a gun in each hand, killing creatures left and right like it was a walk in the park. A very dark apocalyptic park filled with zombie-things, anyway.

I saw him toss one of the guns aside, and pick up the gas pump when he was barely ten feet away. He pointed the gun at the pump, and the pump at the car, and it clicked in my mind what he meant to do.

I ducked a moment before fire engulfed the car. I saw Michael approach and scooted over. Hr broke the glass, and offered me his hand like he wasn't standing in fire. I took it and he pulled me out quickly, holding on as we made a break for the diner.

As we got close, Michael pushed me ahead of him and hugged me close as he jumped, just barely making it inside in time for Bob and Jeep to close the door on the explosion following us. He looked me over quickly, and stood, helping me up as we stripped off burning coats. Charlie ran to get us water to stop our clothes smoking. I was about to thank Michael for saving me again, when I heard a pitcher shatter, and Charlie scream. His attention was ripped away from me, and to Charlie who was kicking away the now thumb-less possessed boy.

The lights went out and Michael sprang into action, jumping across the counter and landing in a crouch in front of Charlie. Flashlights flickered on around us, and I watched as they traced a trail of bloody handprints on the ceiling. Out of nowhere Bob yells out, the boy riding his back and trying to strangle him. With such small hands, and no thumbs, it's nearly impossible. Michael grabbed the boy, yanking him off and throwing him across the room, shooting it until it doesn't move anymore. His head snaps over to Charlie, even before she leaned over with a pained groan. I knew what was next.

"It's coming." he whispered in awe. Everyone rushed to get towels, and whatever else you needed for childbirth. I went to follow them, but Michael caught me, steering me by the shoulders to where Charlie was laying. He gave my shoulder a slight squeeze, before pushing me down to sit between her legs. I looked at him incredulously. I didn't know Angels could be sexist.

"Just because I'm a girl, does not mean I know how to do this!" I informed him, my voice raising a bit more than usual. Michael just gave me a calm look, and took Charlie's hands, holding her against his chest for support. I knew what was coming would be a hell of a rough time for her.

"Be calm and do exactly as I tell you." he instructed me, like it was a simple thing that can be learned, just 123.

"How do you know what to do?" I demanded. He gave me a look, and I realized it was a silly question. He had been around for a very long time, I doubted there was much he didn't know. Charlie writhed between us in obvious pain, and a great bellowing horn call rent the air. I jerked, head flying to the front doors.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked, not bothering to censor myself. Michael's eyes flicked to mine.

"He's coming. We need to hurry now." he turned his attention to Charlie. Once more I doubted his knowledge slightly. Hurry and pregnancy did not belong in the same sentence.

"What do you mean hurry? This isn't exactly something we can hurry." I protested. He just leaned his head down to Charlie's.

"Charlie. I need you to push now. You push like you never pushed before. Pushhh!  
He drew out the word, like it would help speed up the process. The horn blew again, and I needed to know.

"Michael. Who is coming?" he ignored me for a moment, repeating his command to push. I let it go.

"Come on. That's good!" I encouraged her as she gave one last push, the baby popping out neatly. It was not a normal birth. Still, it was done.

"Charlie, you did it! You did it!" I told her, cleaning the blood off the baby with one of the towels someone had brought. I wrapped him in another one and held him out to his mother. Charlie turned her head.

"No, it's okay. Your baby is fine, look." I assured, figuring she might be scared. When she still didn't look, I was worried.

"It's alright." Michael told me, putting his hand over mine and gently moving the baby further into my arms.

"Give her some time Audrey." He instructed. I met his eyes, letting my confusion show, but nodded, taking the baby over to my mother who was still tied up. My eyes began to water again, and I wiped them the best I could. I slumped down carefully next to my mom, cradling the baby closer and not once lifting my head.


	4. Dday Rewrite

"He's beautiful." My mom's voice, nothing but a tender whisper, rose me from the darkness of my thoughts some time later. I looked down to the baby boy sleeping soundly in my arms, the child that was supposed to be being cocooned in his mother's arms. I looked up to my own mother questioningly, wondering if she was over being verbally abusive. As if reading my mind, she nodded.

"I remember when you were a baby." she stated longingly.

"You used to look at me like that." she indicated the baby, who had stirred and was staring up at me like I was the meaning to life.

"Just like that." mom repeated. I didn't doubt it. When I was a child, I had nothing but love and adoration for her. She doted on me like mad. Then both she and dad got promotions. I'd been lonely ever since. I looked to see her eyes glazed over with tears.

"Audrey. I'm sorry about what I said to you before. I didn't mean it." she apologized. I smiled and nodded, but I didn't believe it. I knew she did, and knew it was the truth.

"Yeah, I know." I lied. She was my mother after all, and she was trying to patch things up between us.

"You're the most precious thing in the world to me." she admitted. She seemed different now that I was looking at her properly.

"It's just you and me now." she added on a slightly creepier note.

"I know." I mumbled, edging away casually as she shifted around for a moment. The baby started to cry, and I could hear the possessed yell out in pain at the sound. Apparently the baby had some sort of effect on them. A few seconds later, the piercing sound of a horn lit through the night again. It was somehow more terrifying this time without Michael near by, but that soon changed. He, as well as the others, came close. Whether consciously or not, they formed a sort of half ring around the child.

"What's going on?" Bob asked. Michael kept grabbing and loading guns.

"We need to go." Michael redirected. I don't think I'd ever agreed with anything more in my life.

"The possessed can't go near the child, but He sent someone who can, someone like me." he added, making my heart rate spike. An Angel as powerful as him, but against instead of for us. It was not a pleasant thought.

"Like you?" someone questioned.

"Gabriel." Michael clarified, voice only hinting at the pain his eyes held. It was the kind of soul-deep pain you only got from loss or betrayal. I had no doubt they had been friends, maybe even like brothers.

"He's come here to do what I wouldn't." he admitted. I was only confused for a moment.

"You were the one who was supposed to kill the baby?" Jeep accused.

"That's the order you didn't obey." He stated more than asked, and I remembered the conversation from the night before.

"We need to go." he reiterated, cocking a gun and ignoring the questions. From quite a distance from me, Charlie shifted.

"What is he talking about?" Charlie asked dumbly, only to be ignored again.

"Grab whatever weapons we have left." Michael ordered.

"What are you talking about?" Charlie demanded to know. She inched closer to me and the baby. She was so defensive for someone who wouldn't so much as look at her baby. The one in question.

"We need to go now." Michael repeated.

"Tell me!" Charlie shrieked.

"Now!" Michael shot back, voice raised slightly. He paused, and lowered his voice.

"The baby…the baby was never meant to be born." he explained to us.

"The future has been unwritten. The child lives." he spoke with hope and determination coloring his voice clearly. He looked like he wanted to smile, from just that statement. He walked towards Charlie slowly, as if trying to calm her, yet she was acting as if he'd hurt her. As if he'd hurt the baby.

"And while he does, there's still hope." he had stopped walking towards her, his tone quite a bit more somber. Charlie came towards me.

"Audrey." she called, reaching for the baby. I couldn't deny her, her own child, and held him up for her to take. In that moment, my mother leapt from the chair, snatching up the baby. In a second, Michael's gun was trained on her head.

"Mom!" I cried in disbelief, and a bit of fear.

"Come, come." was all she said, beckoning to me from her position in front of the door.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying not to let my voice crack. I had to stay calm, talk her out of this.

"I heard them say," she started out, voice hysteric.

"They just want the baby. I will give them the baby, Then they'll let us go!" she said, making it sound so simple. We all knew it wasn't. If they got the baby, all hope for humanity would be lost.

"Give him back to me!" Charlie ordered shakily.

"Why?" mom seemed honestly surprised.

"You didn't want him in the first place." she snapped, voice filled with a mocking spite.

"Come on Audrey." she called. I stayed where I was.

"Audrey, come with me!" she coaxed, trying to get me to join her in her ridiculous plan. I shook my head, tears already pouring from my eyes because, after just one look at Michael, I knew what he was going to do.

"It's just one baby." she muttered crazily, almost like she was trying to justify it.

"It's just one baby." the horn blew one last time, and the door flew open. White light streamed though, blinding. In that instant, Michael shot her, the baby rolling from her arms.

"No!" I cried, both for my mom, a bullet in her head, and for the baby hurtling towards the floor. Jeep dove and caught him just inches from the hard linoleum floor. A towering Angel in full armor and metal wings appeared in the doorway, swinging a mace at Jeep's head. He rolled out of the way at the last second.

Michael turned towards Charlie and I, pushing us both towards the door. Jeep scrambled after us, and Bob tried to hold off the angel with a sub-machine gun. We got through the door a split second after I saw Gabriel's wings cut through Bob's stomach. He dropped his gun in shock, and it sounded like he was thrown across the room.

"No!" Jeep screamed, trying to get to his father, but Michael held him back.

"No, Jeep, not now." he told him, and glanced to the child that had been passed to me.

"The child. Get the child out of here." he commanded. Charlie took him from me.

"What about you?" Jeep questioned.

"Don't be afraid. Find the Prophets. Learn to read the instructions." he redirected, voice gentler now. I got the feeling I would never see him again.

"Prophets? What Prophets? What instructions?" Jeep questioned desperately, but Michael backed away.

"Go!" he ordered again. I couldn't move as the rest passed me by. My eyes were glued to Michael's and I knew he would face his death here.

"Audrey. You need to go. Protect the child. Stay alive." he came back a bit.

"But Michael…" whatever I was going to say was cut off by his embrace.

"I'm sorry Audrey, but I must do this. I have to at least give you three time to get away if I can't defeat him. So go. Go and live. Show God why humans still deserve to live!" I couldn't disobey. I returned the hug and whispered, because if I'd done anything else I would have broken into tears again.

"Goodbye. We'll be waiting." A few traitorous tears still escaped me, but I held it together as I turned, taking off into the night and through the hoards of possessed. Charlie and Jeep were in the police cruiser Michael had come in. I hopped in the back, not bothering to buckle, and Jeep drove off at full speed. It seemed an eternity we drove, before Charlie cried out.

"Jeep! Your arm." I looked down to see the tattoos that covered Michael, now spiraling up Jeep's arm and spreading. I knew what it meant. Michael was gone. I had lost yet another person dear to me, and all those at the diner were dear to me.

"The instructions." he said confidently. Soon, I saw a sign that said 'Red Ridge'

"We're here." I informed them. Jeep glanced at the sign.

"Okay. We need to figure out our weapons situation. Hopefully Michael didn't take everything out of the car. Look around." Jeep ordered. I hated the fact that he had taken charge, like he was trying to replace Michael, but I stayed silent and did as he asked.

"I've got a flare gun and a couple of-" something landed on the roof. There was a sound of screaming metal and the lights were thrown off the car. Gabriel punched his arm though the roof by Jeep's head. Jeep shot at it, and the arm retracted violently. Gabriel seemed to be thrown to the back of the car, but caught the edge. I stared in horror as he crawled his way up towards the back window, towards me.

"Jeep!" I called out, ducking as Jeep shot at Gabriel again, blowing out the back window. He pulled the trigger again and the gun clicked empty.

"Audrey, flare gun!" he called to me. I shot it right in the Archangel's face, but it bounced off and around the car, failing to dislodge him. The next thing I knew there was a large fist coming at me, pain, then stars.

When I regained full awareness, Gabriel was half inside the car, reaching into the front seat. I rose and got on his back, trying my best to restrict his airflow with an arm around his neck. Jeep floored it, and I realized what he was going to do. It was the same thing I would do.

"Jeep! Do it!" I called, still hanging on so Gabriel couldn't use his wings. Jeep slammed on the breaks, sending Gabriel and I through the windshield, and the car tumbling out of control. Despite my best efforts, I slid from his back to his front, his wings opening slightly from the force and shielding us from some of the potential damage. We landed a good distance from the car, and I had neither the strength nor will to open my eyes, or move, or anything. Everything seemed distant.

"Ugh." I heard. Gabriel, who landed under me, began to move. He seemed to realize I was on top of him, because he slip my limp body off and to the ground next to him, then got up. For a moment he stood there, and I couldn't hear him moving.

"Forgive me girl. I am just following the will of God. I did not wish to bring this upon any of you." He spoke, and unlike the other time I had heard him speak, his voice was soft, full of regret and sorrow. For the first time, I wondered if he really wasn't a bad guy in general. He was an Archangel after all… There was a flap of wings, and a rush of air. I was alone again, and the darkness consumed me.


	5. Goodbye Michael Rewrite

Pain, that spread all throughout my body, woke me who knew how much later. All I knew was that I hurt, and Charlie and Jeep were most likely dead already…along with the baby.

"The baby!" I gasped, the thought jolting me out of my half-conscious state. I sat up with difficulty, ignoring the shooting pain going down my back, and looked around. I could still see the Red Ridge sign in the distance behind me.

With whatever willpower I had left, I stood. I nearly collapsed immediately, but I locked my knees, and my back, and breathed deep. I had to know, had to find them, whether they were alive or not. I began to stumble my way towards the giant ridge before me. My best guess as to the time was somewhere around dawn.

The walk was difficult and long, or at least it felt long, but the thought that the others might still be alive, hanging by a thread, made my numb muscles keep working.

"Jeep!" I heard Charlie's voice high above me, followed by a sickening thud. My eyes widened. The thud had come from just around the corner in front of me. I rushed around it as quickly as my beaten and broken body would take me. I reached them just as Gabriel approached Jeep, who laid on the ground on his back nearly defenseless. Then I saw the knife.

"No!" my voice was drowned out by Gabriel's almost disbelieving tone.

"Why do you continue to fight, when you know all hope is lost?" He questioned. Jeep didn't back down, in fact he began to get back up as I approached the Angel silently from behind, hoping to do something to keep him away from Jeep, it was he the child needed after all, not me. There was a sort of grim smile on Jeep's face that I couldn't quite explain. He opened his mouth to spit out blood and uttered an eloquent 'fuck you'.

As Gabriel's knife descended, I jumped on his back, trying to tackle him. In that moment, in a burst of light spun of sunshine, another figure swooped down on midnight black wings. It was Michael. Gabriel flung me off and stilled.

"This can't be. You disobeyed Him." Gabriel's voice wavered like never before, and the fear rolled off of him in small waves. Michael's eyes showed neither malice nor ill-will.

"You gave him what he asked. I gave him what he needed." he stated simply. Something in the way it rolled off his tongue made me think he'd said it before, but I could never be sure with Michael. In one swift movement, his beautifully inscribed sword flashed, and Gabriel was defeated. He took off into the sky, and my attention returned to Michael.

Truly, with his wings back, Michael surpassed anything Gabriel could ever hope to become. The golden light around him dimmed, then died, replaced with rays from the early morning sun. There was a look on his face, one I couldn't quite place until his gaze shifted upward. It was belonging, the sense of finally being home after long and painful years away. It was a look of contentment that was never there before.

Michael offered a hand to Jeep, who took it and began to climb up the ridge, to Charlie and to the child. He turned to me then. I still lay in a shameful pile on the floor, where Gabriel had thrown me, too overwhelmed and pained to do much else.

"Audrey. You're alive." It was a question as much as confirmation, I nodded anyway. Michael didn't bother offering me a hand, knowing I didn't have the strength to stand, and instead crouched to slide a hand under my knees, and the other behind my back. After pausing to let me wrap my arms around his neck, he straightened. I wasn't alarmed or uneasy as I usually was when lifted this way. I didn't flinch, but shifted closer to him, closer to the warmth that radiated from his body. I realized I was shivering slightly, but ignored it.

"_You're _alive is more like it. You died before. I know you did. The tattoos even appeared on Jeep's skin. Your tattoos. How are you here now?" Even with my present state being what it was, I couldn't help but ask. He looked down at me for a moment with a smile. It was a real, beautiful smile that could melt the coldest of hearts and reduce a lion to a kitten. Then he winked at me, ME. I didn't know if I had hit my head, or what, but I was suddenly slightly dizzier.

"It's a trade secret. I'll tell you some day, if you're good." he joked lightly, but the words sunk deep. 'I'll tell you some day' was both an promise I'd see him again, and an indication he was leaving.

"Well, I'll be waiting, and don't think I'll forget Michael." I confirmed. It was maybe the second time I'd said his name out loud, yet it seemed to flow naturally.

"I don't believe you will…" he trailed as his eyes shifted upward, a small look of regret crossing his handsome features for a moment. I shook myself mentally, knowing for certain then that I had hit my head.

"He calls. I'll take you to Charlie, but then I must leave. I can't say when I'll be able to return, just that I will. You'll have to take my word for it." he told me, then his ebony wings expanded, nearly blotting out the light, and we lifted off the ground. The feeling was nothing less than cataclysmic, and a silly grin split my face nearly in half.

"So this is what it's like to fly? Do you ever just fly around Heaven sometimes? Just to fly?" I asked, looking up to him just as he looked down to me. Our faces were literally an inch apart, and when he spoke, his breath tickled my lips, and resonated through my whole body.

"At times, when things get complicated, yes, or just to relax. The gift of flight is nothing short of amazing, and we are truly, truly thankful to be blessed with it." he told me, and his eyes shifted up again as we touched down. He gently set me down in an upright position, and I even managed to keep myself there. Jeep and Charlie were on the other side of the flat expanse, quite a bit away.

"This is it Audrey. I hope that soon I'll be back on Earth, but until that that, please be safe, and know that when the time does come, there will be a place in Heaven for you. Goodbye." he smiled sadly. It couldn't be it, it just couldn't. Before he could turn, I flung my arms around his neck in a hug. He returned the embrace gently for a moment, then the next he was gone in a rush of wind, and nothing remained. A single tear slid down my face, and I whispered into the wind.

"I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting…"


	6. In Which Something Goes Horribly Wrong R

It had been months since the last time I'd seen Michael. If it wasn't for the possessed who were still hanging around Charlie, Jeep, and the baby, I would think he was only a dream; a wonderful, protective, ass-kicking dream. I knew when he left, that it would be a while till I saw him again. I knew he'd be busy with the souls of those lost to the possessed and such, but I thought maybe he'd have time between all that every now and then. The way it was looking now, I wouldn't see him till this whole thing was over, which could take months or years.

"Audrey." Jeep called through the door, knocking gently. We had found a hotel, whose owner had already been killed by possessed, and spent the night. I sighed quietly. I had a feeling it was going to be a very long day, and I wasn't at all eager to meet it.

"I'll meet you in the lobby in 10." I called back, already dragging myself from the warmth of the bed. Ready for the day or not, I would face it, as I did every day.

It was the work of only a few moments to pull on some clean clothes and find my shoes. I didn't really take that long to get dressed anymore. Most of my time getting ready in the morning was spent praying. That's right. In the time since the apocalypse began, I had become a believer. How could I not? I knelt as I heard Jeep's footsteps fade away. Kneeling was probably the only part of praying I did right. I looked up at the plain white ceiling and took a calming breath.

"God, I know this is probably the complete wrong way to pray, but hey. I hope everyone up there is doing ok and I hope you are beginning to see again why you loved us in the first place. We, not just Jeep, Charlie, and I, but all of the survivors fight hard to live on and hopefully gain your forgiveness. I know I'm not especially eloquent, so maybe I'll end up like the third daughter in King Lear, but I hope that at least you hear us and think about it a bit…Amen." I concluded.

I felt the stirring of air, a moment before I heard him. I spun, grabbing the knife from under my pillow, and stabbed the possessed right where its heart should be. It made a strange gurgling sound, and fell limp. I sent up a quick bid for forgiveness and its soul-if it had one-then took off towards the lobby.

"Charlie! Jeep!" I yelled out ahead of me, seeing the two of them already armed and alert when I reached the main room.

"What happened?" Charlie asked. I grabbed a gun of my own, checking to see that the clip was fully loaded as I explained the situation to her.

"It may have just been a straggler, but they could have found us." Jeep considered. It wasn't a happy thought. The last time a group had found us, we had nearly lost Charlie. A possessed had pinned her and the only thing that had kept her alive was my desperate throw with a knife. By dumb luck alone I had hit its neck and killed it. If a group attacked us again, there was no way to know what could happen.

"Either way we can't leave till we're sure there are no more here." Jeep spoke my next thoughts aloud. It was pretty much our job to eradicate all the possessed we could, to make a safer place for the now 6 month old messiah, not to mention the rest of the survivors.

"We'll all stay together, go one hall at a time from the top down, ok?" Jeep outlined our usual plan. Charlie and I nodded, and I traded my handgun for the shotgun she was handing me. Since she had the baby, it would be easier for her to use the pistol.

"Alright. Let's go." I took the lead. I always took the lead, and Jeep the rear. It played on all our strengths and kept the messiah protected.

We went up four flights of stairs to the roof and began our sweep. The roof itself was clean, as well as the parking lot around it. We proceeded down to the fourth floor. Nothing. The third floor was clean as well. I began to think it was just a straggler. My trigger hand was cramping, and I pulled it away slightly, flexing it to relieve the tension. I almost didn't hear the slight rasp above me, and barely had time to look up before the young possessed girl fell on me. Everything seemed to blur then. It bit my shoulder, hard, and I pumped it full of buckshot before it could tear the flesh away. I heard more shots, alerting me to the presence of other possessed as I pried its jaws open and slid it off of me.

"Audrey, are you ok?" I heard Charlie ask from behind me. She had taken a defensive position between and behind Jeep and I, the messiah cradled close. There seemed to be a stream of possessed coming in from the end of the hall. I cursed silently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How did we not notice all these possessed coming up to the hotel though? Why didn't we hear them break in?" I asked, wondering about the one that had been in my room this morning. I knew for a fact that I had checked the room when I entered it, and had locked all doors and windows.

Charlie's pistol going off in my ear brought my thoughts back to the present, and I concentrated my shots more efficiently. The recoil from the shotgun was agony to my savaged shoulder, but I kept on firing. I had to. Still, no matter how many bullets we fired, the possessed were slowly getting closer and closer, closing in until there was only a few feet left between us and several dozen crazed possessed.

"Jeep, we're trapped, what do we do?" Charlie cried, plain terror in her voice. My mind was working furiously, thinking of some sort of plan. Jeep wasn't the best at quick thinking, and so it usually fell to me to come up with such plans. There was only one thing I could see, though, and even that was a stretch. A possessed broke through the line, Charlie shooting it down, and I decided that we had to try. It was now or never.

"Jeep, Charlie! There's a door to the right! Concentrate your fire and try to clear a path to it!" I had to shout to be heard over the constant gunfire. After a moment their aim shifted to one spot, and I spun to cover their backs. I had to shoot in a near 180 degree arc to keep them back, but it was only a few moments before we reached the door. Jeep dragged me in by the back of my shirt and slammed the door behind me, locking it. Charlie was already at the conjoining door, flinging it open. We got that locked behind us as well and resumed our search for a way out. I looked out the window to see a drain pipe just next to it. That just left us with the problem of the baby, something my mind already resolved as I made my way to the room's bed. I grabbed the knife from my belt and tore up the sheets, cutting them into strips. I formed a sling for the messiah, explaining as I worked.

"There's a drainpipe that we should be able to use by the window. Charlie start going down now. I'm making a sling to put the baby in so we can lower him down to you. Jeep and I will wait till it's safe and come after you. As soon as you have him, make for the car and start gathering weapons, ok?" I ordered. There was no time for politeness now. By the sound of it, the possessed had already broken through the first door.

Charlie nodded, passing the baby off to Jeep and climbing carefully out the window. I hoped to God she wouldn't fall, and tied off the sling. Jeep placed the messiah in and we went to the window. Charlie was waiting, and we began to lower the child slowly. The possessed were scratching wildly on the door now, but this was no time to rush. If we unbalanced the sling, and he fell, that would be the end for humanity. It seemed to take a small eternity before he was safely back in Charlie's arms.

She took off at a sprint for the car, and Jeep urged me out the window, gun trained on the door. I didn't argue, hopping out and climbing halfway down before sliding the rest of the way. There was a sharp sting in my ankle, but I ignored it, seeing Jeep starting out of the room. I heard the door crack just as he cleared the window.

I shot at every distorted face I saw as he made his way down and to me. We hauled ass to the car, Charlie tossing us each our own M-16 as we reached her. I wished we were using them to get out of there, but we still had a job to do. We loaded up on as much ammo as we could carry, and waited at the front of the hotel.

"Charlie. You should take the baby and get somewhere safe." Jeep advised as we waited. Charlie responded like we knew she would, like she always did. She stayed. Even though he knew she would stay, Jeep always had to ask. It was like it made him feel better, knowing he gave her an out. I shook my head.

All too soon, possessed started pouring out the double doors, and we lit them up. After at least five minutes of this, I knew there was something wrong. Something very, very wrong. We had to have killed a few dozen of them, and they were still coming. As I shot down another, I noticed something that had never happened before. Their eyes flashed and stayed red right before they collapsed.

My blood ran cold as one of the first ones we had shot began to move again. It got up and stared at us with a twisted smile that stretched from ear to ear, drawing attention to two glowing red eyes. These were no longer just people possessed by the dogs of Heaven. These were something much worse. Something more…Demonic.


	7. Percy? Rewrite

We fought them off as long as we could but eventually they got smart and split up, some coming from a different exit. We didn't even see them till they had hopped up onto the car, blocking our escape route. We knew it was just a matter of time, this time. There was no wall to put our backs to, no door to escape through, just a seemingly endless amount of these new possessed, us, and our guns. They formed a ring around us that our bullets could not disassemble. It grew tighter and tighter around us, the possessed growing closer and closer. So near that I could feel their claws ripping at the edges of my sleeves and jeans. My gun jammed and I closed my eyes. This was it.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to my companions and I could _hear _one of them slip through and lunge at me. I didn't tense, nor did I even attempt to block him, there was no escape from this. At least now I would be at peace. I waited for the blow to come, but I didn't feel any pain. Instead, a warmth, a light seemed to radiate around me. It was comforting, yet at the same time intimidating. Curiosity finally took over, as it usually does, and I came face to claw with a possessed. It seemed frozen, just staring to the side, as were many of the possessed. I too looked, and there, in all his glory and looking to the world like an furious Greek god, was the protecting Archangel.

He was different than I remembered; a weary and enduring man. He was now as we parted, and the glory of it stunned me. Midnight black wings stretched to capacity, as if rearing. Sunlight glinted off his armor blindingly and there was a collar around his neck that I had only vaguely noticed before. I couldn't believe what I was seeing was real.

"Michael." came my strangled whisper. I noticed my position and quickly bounded away from the possessed, and closer to Michael. My gun was done for, so I'd just be dead weight to Jeep and Charlie. I knew Michael, on the other hand, wouldn't be hindered by me. I stood away as he approached the new possessed, who finally seemed to snap out of their dazes. He ripped through them like nothing, using his sword instead of a gun, which he seemed to wield just as well, if not better, than the modern weapon. At some point, Jeep and Charlie stopped shooting and came to stand by me, watching in awe. Creature after creature fell, and after a time, Michael was the only one left standing. There was a brief silence.

"Michael? What are you doin' here?" I heard Jeep ask, and almost face palmed. Out of all the things he could say, he chose that. Honestly, that was typical Jeep. He had gotten more Possessed savvy over his time as protector, but his IQ sadly hadn't raised much. Michael gave a half smile, though he still seemed pretty pissed at whatever it was he was pissed at. The strange tension, that I hadn't noticed before, dissipated into nothing.

"Taking care of some business." he replied, prodding one of the fallen possessed with his shoe. I nearly shivered. Even dead, the eyes were open and red. I wouldn't touch one of them if someone paid me to do it.

"What were those? They weren't normal possessed by any stretch." I commented. Michael looked up at me, fury gone from his gaze, but lips still set in a grim line.

"No, they weren't. They are possessed by a different breed of dog." he almost seemed reluctant in saying it, but his conviction and hatred for whatever was possessing these people was clear. The 'different breed of dog' puzzled me for a moment. Hadn't he said the Dogs of Heaven were possessing people? What other kind was there?

"These people were possessed by Hell Hounds: Vicious abominations created by Lucifer in the deepest depths of hell to do his bidding." Michael informed us, glaring at one of the dead creatures. Clearly he was not a fan.

"What?! What are they doing here?" Charlie wanted to know. Michael sighed and came over to us, not yet tucking his sword away. That was Michael, ever vigilant, ever ready.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know." he admitted. It hit me then that, despite the weapon in his hand, he seemed relaxed now, like he was comfortable around us. We were friends, all of us, and it would be a cold day in hell when I let that change. I gave him a wry sort of smile as he came to a stop in front of us, anything else not quite right for the serious situation we were in. Michael returned it, nodding. He knew what I meant, and he was glad to see us as well.

"Were they after the baby?" I asked, getting back on track mentally, and trying to jumpstart everyone's thought process. He made a small noise of consideration.

"I don't think so. They can't touch Leon either." Michael admitted. It was strange hearing someone say Leon's name. To everyone he was the Messiah, not a child of almost a year. Charlie, Jeep and I took care of him as best we could, but other than Charlie, I don't think anyone saw him as a baby. I made a mental resolution to spend more time spoiling him. Or would that be less time?

"I think, with the large number of them here, they were sent to eliminate you." my thoughts were yanked back to the present by Michael's statement.

"What?" Jeep asked, apparently as startled as me, but I began thinking about it. Why else would they come after us knowing they couldn't hurt or take the baby-take _Leon_. Things began to click into place.

"Yes, that way one of his followers here on Earth could kill him without anyone being in the way." Michael reasoned. While that was all well and good, didn't that mean someone would be nearby, coming to kill poor Leon?

"Michael?" I called, getting his, as well as the others' attention. I couldn't think of a good way to put it, so I just went with my first thought.

"If someone is coming, should we catch them? Find out their plan?" I asked, and the question did sound silly. We weren't cops setting a trap to get the bad guy and question him. We were just a band of misfits…and an Angel, an Archangel at that. Despite this, Michael nodded and began giving instructions for us to get out of sight. We were going to be leaving Leon in the car. It sounded risky, but I knew no one here would let anything happen to the boy.

Jeep and Charlie set up in a room across from Michael and I. All of us were looking out of the window, guns trained on the truck. Everything was in our favor, from the element of surprise, to numbers, yet Michael still seemed tense. I myself was curiously calm, as was happening more and more lately.

"What is it?" I questioned him in a whisper, just in case there were more possessed in the halls. Michael glanced at me over his M-16, then refocused.

"My concern lies in who is coming. It may not just be a human follower. It may be a Familiar." he admitted. I didn't know the term's meaning, yet it sent a chill down my spine all the same. I shot a look at him.

"Lucifer's Familiars are the demonic equivalent of an Archangel." he explained. I could literally feel my blood go cold and drain from my face. If just the Dogs put up so much resistance, I could barely imagine what a Familiar would do. We all barely survived the Angel version.

A noise caught my attention and I looked to see Michael already staring down his scope. I took a deep breath and lowered my head to my own sights. I focused in on the car, and what I saw stole my breath. There, slinking across the lot, knife in hand, was Percy.


	8. An Old Acquaintance Rewrite

"Percy?" I asked under my breath, floored. What was Percy doing here? He was supposed to be dead. Despite my surprise, I kept him in my sights. There was nothing innocent or coincidental about this situation. He was here to kill Leon, and it didn't matter why. We couldn't let him do it.

"Not anymore." Michael denied in response to my surprised outburst. I could hear him shifting, but didn't dare shift my focus from what was once my friend.

"Stay here and keep a look out for any more Dogs. I'll take care of him. It seems he's the only one coming." Michael ordered. He said it so calmly that for a moment I thought he only meant to tie Percy up or knock him out. Then I realized something. Michael meant to kill him. I opened my mouth, perhaps to protest, but at the same time I chanced a glance at Michael. Any argument I may have had died on my lips at the look in his eyes. He was not going to be swayed on this.

He was right, and I knew that. Whatever was down there wasn't really Percy. His eyes met mine for the briefest of moments before I turned my attention back to the Possessed. I nodded carefully, showing him that I understood. I felt Michael get up, and shifted a bit more to the side so he could get through the window. For a moment all was still, and a hand was laid on my shoulder. The familiar heat crept through me, and something in me relaxed. Then he was out the window.

Without a sound, Michael hit the ground. He didn't take time to recover from the jump, just started closing in on the possessed. Within moments it was down, Michael's sword slicing it cleanly in half. Then something crazy happened, and I wasn't all that sure I had seen it right. The possessed turned to dust, scattering in the light desert breeze.

I did a quick scan for any more possessed, and slid the gun around to rest at my back, following followed Michael's path out the window. I hit the ground with considerably less grace and stealth, but not bad for a human. Once down, I stared more closely at the spot the possessed had been. There was nothing, not even ash that I could tell apart from the sand. Two loud thuds behind me alerted me to Charlie and Jeep's presence.

"Why did you do that? You killed Percy!" Jeep accused irately. I didn't have to turn to know that there were tears in his eyes. Out of all of us, including Charlie, he had been the closest to the war vet. I moved to the van, checking on and taking Leon out of the truck as Charlie went to comfort Jeep. Michael gave them a moment before answering.

"What I killed, wasn't Percy. Have you seen a normal human just turn to dust after they're killed?" he asked, trying to make Jeep see reason. Sure enough, he calmed down a bit and Michael continued to explain. Leon cooed in my arms, shifting and falling asleep. As much as I didn't like children, Leon really did grow on you. Michael's attention was drawn to the now sleeping bundle, and stayed there as he continued.

"He was possessed by a Hell Hound. Since he was dead by the time they possessed him, after I stopped the body, it turned to dust." he told us, voice soft.

"There are certain advantages to possessing corpses. For one, it gives them the ability to harm the messiah. Because the bodies are dead, the pain that stops their living counterparts from doing so does not apply." He answered our question before we could ask why.

I couldn't help the wave of helplessness that washed over me, even with an M-16 slung over my shoulder. The new type of possessed couldn't be killed with guns, and who knew about the dead ones? I held back a sigh. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

At least Michael was here to guide us for now. We weren't operating in the dark this time. I wasn't being forced to figure everything out this time. It wasn't to say that Jeep and Charlie hadn't tried, it was just that they were both going through other things that they had to deal with. Leon mainly, and it seemed Jeep was having some sort of problem with the instructions.

I shook my head, getting back to the present. None of that was relevant now.

"So what now?" I prodded, wondering what everyone else was thinking. Charlie came over to take Leon from me. I thought on the situation. I certainly didn't want to continue on as we had been. It would be suicide with these new Possessed.

"The next town is an hour over. We could go there next." Jeep suggested, confirming that his commonsense levels still had not improved much. I loved the man to death, but sometimes I really just wanted to beat some sense into him. Charlie, as if reading my mind, hit him upside the head lightly. It would have to do.

"We can't. We don't have the weapons to kill them." I told him simply. Jeep nodded, looking troubled. He wanted to know what we could do then.

"We get you some weapons that can, and training to use them." Michael advised. Jeep seemed to get an idea then.

"Can we use some of the Angel-y weapons you got? They seem to work." he questioned, seeming to think the problem solved. Michael rose a brow.

"Angel-y weapons, as you call them, are just that-for Angels. If a Human were to touch one, they would be burned. No, what you need are weapons that have been blessed by a Human Clergyman." he planned. I scanned the parking lot absently, wondering if there were even any left. It seemed that the church members were the first to go.

A stray upward glance from Michael caught my attention, and I realized that I had seen him do it twice already. I hadn't thought anything of it. Now that I was thinking of it, it reminded me all too much of when he had been being summoned six months ago. A hard ball formed in my stomach, though I hadn't eaten yet. We were losing him again.

"And until we find one, what do we do? Would I be right in guessing you can't hang around for too much longer?" I ventured, needing to know where we should be going from here. Michael turned to look at me with a small grimace.

"You would be right, yes. I have duties that need to be taken car of, and soon, so an…old acquaintance of ours has agreed to help out." he seemed to hesitate greatly on what word to use for this person. I scoffed internally. I would be fine so long as it wasn't…My train of thought cut off as it hit me just who this acquaintance was.

"Gabriel?" I managed to ask, voice little more than a whisper. I was hoping I was wrong. Michael nodded and I looked up, almost expecting to see him there. I wanted to protest, but I knew it would get me nowhere. I sighed.

"When do you have to go?" I asked, instead of voicing the doubts that rested on the tip of my tongue. Michael looked skywards once more, listening closely.

"Now." he admitted, and turned to Charlie and Jeep.

"I have to go. Stay safe. I hope to see you all again soon." he announced. Just then I heard something behind me.

I knew what I would see, even as I turned around. Sure enough, Gabriel stood just behind me, standing tall and imposing. A rush of fear shot through me, skyrocketing my adrenaline. He was dressed in full armor, his mace in hand. Was it a thing among Angels to always be battle ready when they arrived?

Charlie and Jeep cried out in surprise when they saw him, and Jeep moved in front of her. They both kept Leon well protected. I stood, just staring at the Angel in front of me, and trying to calm myself. The feat was made infinitely easier with Michael at my back, and Gabriel's own last words to me fresh in my mind. I crushed down my panic, shoving away yet another thing I felt in the pursuit of survival. Before I could convince myself it was a bad idea, I held out a hand.

"Gabriel." I greeted, letting myself trust this man, who had nearly killed us all. In truth, he had only been doing what he thought right, what his creator had bid him to do.

In this position I was open, my defenses severely limited, and in an instant I could be dead on the floor. Somewhere though, deep down, I knew I would be fine. Maybe it was stupid, maybe not. This thought, this hope, was solidified as his large hand encompassed my own and shook it once, gently, before letting go. In his eyes I could see that he had not forgiven himself for that night. I saw also, how much my small act of kindness, of forgiveness, had meant as well as confused him. My mouth opened, and my question was out before I could stop it.

"What you said before, when you thought I was dead, or dying; I believe you were sincere. After all, why lie to a dying person?" I grinned at the end, trying to take the edge off the memory. It didn't seem to help Jeep at all, as he immediately started protesting, telling me to get away from the Angel. A sigh came from right behind me, and warm breath tickled my neck. I fought a shiver, wondering how I had missed Michael being so close. His body radiated heat like…well, a heater. Thinking on it, Gabriel seemed to be the same way.

"I'm sorry to have to leave like this. Do you think you can handle things with Charlie and Jeep, Audrey?" He asked quietly, as to keep the aforementioned people from hearing. I nodded and smiled.

"Of course." I confirmed. I could handle them, no problem. I had nearly a half year of experience doing just that by now. Michael laid a warm hand on my shoulder, looking over to Gabriel.

"I don't know what it is you said to her, brother, but it is good for you that you did. You have a good ally, and friend, in Audrey." he praised. Then Michael spread his wings, and was gone in a rush of wind that smelled faintly of blood, sweat, and fire. Perhaps it wasn't a combination favored by most, but I knew it to be his scent in this time of war and bloodshed, and the thought send a sad smile across my face. I shook it away. It was time to get back to business.


	9. A Long Apocalypse

Gabriel's gaze stayed on the sky for a moment, as if watching Michael still, before turning to me.

"High praise, even for my brother. I hope to see what has made him say that, though indeed I have already seen a great deal of it in your acceptance of me." he seemed softened then, as he did that night.

"Really it's n-" I was cut off by being dragged backwards roughly. A yelp of surprise and mild pain escaped me. I grabbed the hand pulling me, planted my feet, and bent forward quickly, sending the person over my shoulder. I was not surprised to find Jeep on the floor at my feet. I glared, not releasing his arm just yet.

"What," I practically hissed, "was that about?" Jeep glared, struggling to get up, keeping his eyes fixed on Gabriel.

"Audrey, let me go!" he scolded me, as if I were the one in the wrong here. Charlie watched anxiously from beside the truck, Leon in her arms. With my free hand I bonked Jeep on the head and repositioned myself so that I was sitting on his back, arm twisted so that I could have better control of him. He began to struggle even more, looking anxiously at Gabriel all the while. I hit his head lightly(ish) again.

"I can sit here all day Jeep, and that's exactly what I'll do unless you calm down. Gabriel isn't here to hurt us, he's here to help us. If there is anyone here you should be afraid of right now, it's me. I'm tired, pissed off, and in a position in which I could do just about anything to you." I let that sink in for a moment, and then sighed, really hating having to try to get through to him this way. I let my tone soften a bit,

"But I won't, I wouldn't even if my life was on the line. Do you know why that is? It's because I'm your friend." I couldn't stand forcing him down like that anymore and let him go, sitting on the floor beside him. He didn't move yet his eyes still watched Gabriel for any sign of attack.

"Gabriel, at any time could kill us if he really wanted to, he could have done so without any effort at all just a moment ago, but he didn't and he won't. That's because he is a friend too. Even though we may have started off on the wrong foot, and even though we don't know him well yet, he's a friend. Even if you refuse to see him as one yet, he is still an ally. He came here specifically to help us. Will you deny that help? Go off on your own with Charlie and Leon? You would all be killed and have no one to blame for it but yourselves." I got up, offering my hand to him.

"So please, even if you don't like him, at least believe that he isn't here to do us harm. Believe that he would never do so without orders." I had nothing more to say. I had done my part, the rest was up to them. I still held my hand out to Jeep, waiting for him to take it. After a few moments of silence he reached up,

and slapped it away, getting up on his own. He was pissed, I could tell, but he said nothing as he went off on his own, disappearing around the side of the hotel. I looked to Charlie for her reaction, she hadn't said a word since the argument began. She wasn't glaring, I took this as a good sign.

"He'll be back. He just needs time to cool down and sort things out. I think, in time, he'll accept what you said." Though she never really said whether she accepted it or not, what she didn't say spoke volumes. I smiled, going over to embrace her.

"I'm going to go after him, to make sure he doesn't run into any more of the new possessed." I told her, turning to leave. She caught my arm.

"Wait. If you go after him now he'll get even more pissed off, and that will blind him even more to the truth." she said, letting me go. I grabbed a gun from the car, sending her and Gabriel a wink.

"Well I never said he'd see me, now did I?" with that I took off at a trot in the general direction he had disappeared in. I slowed to a walk as I approached the corner, creeping closer as silently as possible, knowing that he could still be near. I stopped completely at the edge and listened hard. Hearing nothing I proceeded, not seeing Jeep anywhere. I checked thoroughly in the bushes and around the small shed, still not seeing him.

'Perhaps he's on the other side of the building.' I reasoned. With that in mind I repeated my process of sneaking up on the corner and listening. Again I heard nothing. I peeked my head around the corner and nearly ran face first into something, well, some_one_. I reeled back quickly, training my m-16 at the space right in front of the corner.

'That was definitely not Jeep! If anything it looks like..' the person stepped around the corner, his gun raised as well. He froze when he saw me, saw my gun.

"Audrey?" It _was _him, Sean. I sited on his forehead, right between his eyes. This was a test, it had to be. And I for one was glad to shoot this vessel down.

"Audrey, stop!" he ordered, his voice the same as it used to be, as incensed and commanding. I glared, wanting to pull the trigger, but something was nagging at me. None of the possessed had been carrying weapons thus far. Pus he was giving normal reactions, and was speaking, clearly. His voice had none of the taint that the possessed had when they spoke. I cursed loudly, not lowering my gun.

"JEEP! Wherever you are, get over here. We may have a situation! Gabriel, if you can hear me, stay with Charlie and Leon. They're safest there with you!" I pitched my voice as loud as it could go, not scared of drawing any possessed to us. If this was a trap it wouldn't matter. If it wasn't, then we had Gabriel to help us out. Within seconds Jeep came running into sight, his anger seemingly forgotten. He lifted his gun as he caught sight of me and 'Sean' and scanned the area quickly before coming to stand a few feet from us.

"Who the hell are you?" Jeep demanded to know. Sean glared, looking at the gun, then at Jeep, then at me.

"Who the hell are _you_?" he fired back, only to be ignored.

"Do you think he's really untouched by the possessed?" I asked Jeep, really hoping he would say no. Unfortunately, Jeep being Jeep, he look a good look and lowered his gun.

"I think he's ok. I ain't never seen a possessed who can act and talk normally." he said, then he turned to Sean. "And for the record, my name is Jeep." With that he let the gun rest at his side, and Sean lowered his. After a second or two of internal debate, I lowered mine as well but stayed ready. We made our way quickly back to the others, Jeep leading and me at the rear, watching Sean for any sign of fowl play. When Charlie saw us she clutched Leon close to her, and hid slightly behind Gabriel. For his part Gabriel tightened his hold on his mace, almost imperceptively. I grinned at the fact that at least they were on their guard. Jeep went straight to Charlie, asking if she and Leon were ok. While they were having their couple moment Sean stopped a few feet away, sensing Gabriel's distrust and itchy trigger finger, so to speak. Sean smiled slickly at him, always trying to seem the nice guy.

"Hi, I'm Sean, Sean Williams. It's a pleasure to meet you…" he trailed off, waiting for Gabriel to give his name.

"Gabriel." he supplied, and Sean stuck out a hand for him to shake.

"Cool, like the angel?" he asked. I snorted, and Gabriel glanced at me briefly.

"Not _like_, I am the angel Gabriel." He informed him, ignoring the proffered hand. Sean took him in for a moment, probably noting the armor, mace, build, and sword strapped to his side and nodded, seeming for the moment to believe him. When that was established he introduced himself to Charlie, and asked after Leon, staying several feet away due to my gun seemingly springing up of its own free will every time he got closer. When he finally went and sat down to clean his gun I sighed, letting myself relax a bit.

'God.' I thought tiredly. 'This is going to be one looong apocalypse.'

A/N: Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I have a poll to see what story(s) you want me to update. And I would like to say that until I get a clear vote I won't be updating anything so please vote now and let me know! ^-^ -Betsu


	10. Nicknames

I knew better than to think that Gabriel wouldn't have noticed my off demeanor, but I was still surprised when he sought me out later to talk about it. We were all gathered in the lounge of the hotel. Charlie and Jeep were off in a corner cooing at Leon. Sean was by himself in another corner, cleaning his gun, and I was lying on the check in counter, watching everything.

"What's up angel-man?" I asked with a small cheeky smile. Gabriel only gave me a curious look.

"Angel-man? My name is Gabriel." He informed me primly. I cocked my head at him and sat up.

"I know, but you need a nickname. Something not so intimidating as Gabriel." I told him, earning myself another curious look.

"Well, I mean-" I began, not knowing how to put it. "Ok. Look at it this way, that night all they saw was a intimidating, terrifyingly unbeatable enemy, yes?" I stopped to make sure he was following me. He nodded.

"They have associated your name, Gabriel, with that image of you. To them it seems detached, as if they were speaking of a figure they didn't actually know personally, but through the bible or what they have heard et cetera. You still following?" Gabriel gave another small, thoughtful nod,

"I believe so." he affirmed.

"Cool. So, to get them away from thinking of you as some detached emotionless figure, you need a nickname. Something that the can associate with the real you." I finished with a smile, pleased with myself for coming up with the idea.

"So what is my nickname?" he asked. I deflated a bit,

"I don't know. What would you like to go by? Gabe maybe, or angel-man, ooh! Maybe even terminator!" I laughed a bit at the last, hoping he would get it. If the slight smile was anything to go by, he had.

"Hmm, I believe just Gabe would be acceptable, but I leave it to you to decide." he informed me, making me glow once more. Here was Gabriel, the archangel, telling me I could decide his nickname for him. Figuring I would go with something he likes, and finding it quite fitting myself, I went with Gabe.

"Gabe it is then. So, what's up Gabe?" I asked, getting back to why he had come over, since I doubt it was just to chat.

"The new man, Sean I believe it was, you don't trust him?" he told me, more than asked. I nodded. I knew he wanted me to explain myself, so I did, leaving out some details.

"I used to know him, well, we used to go out anyway. I guess you could say I never really knew the real him until well into the relationship." I began and looked over at Gabe, who was listening quietly. I could see in his eyes that he wasn't jumping to conclusions or trying to figure out what I would say about Sean, or judging us, he was just listening.

"He was a marine, with PTSD and was paranoid. Most days he put on the act you saw today, trying to seem friendly and open with everyone. But on the inside, he was taking in and analyzing every little thing you said or did. When we were together, if I so much as talked to a pizza guy with him around, it would lead to a fight. Fighting, to him, was an admission of guilt, which lead to violence. Eventually I learned how to get around it. He's like that most of the time. But on his good days, when he was really himself, he was one of the sweetest people you could meet." I explained and noticed his hand, resting on the mace strapped to his hip, fall to his side. I had to hide a grin at that.

"So really, yes I don't like him, or trust him for that matter. But I know that he's not just some sadistic bastard, doing what he wants for the fun of it." I summed up for him, wondering what he would think of it all. He was silent for a while, considering what I had said.

"Do you think he is a danger to Leon?" he asked. I thought about it.

"No, not unless he's gotten so bad as to be suspicious of a baby. Leon should be safe." I assured.

"Then you should be the one to decide whether or not he can travel with us. Usually when it comes to disorders and diseases such as these, HE decides what to do. But since he is currently only observing, the choice falls to me and since you know him best and I trust your decision not to be made in anger, I give the choice to you." he put it simply. Again I was taken aback. This man really took the saying 'give and you shall receive' to heart. I gave him my trust and friendship and now I was gaining his, quickly. I opened my mouth to tell him we should leave Sean, but stopped myself quickly. Telling him that without thought would only be getting him back for what he'd done to me in the past, but at the same time, agreeing right away would just be trying to live up to the angel's expectations. I sighed.

"Can I think about it a while? I know it sounds heartless but I want to be sure I'm making the right choice for the right reasons." I asked, disappointed in myself. Gabriel though, seemed heartened by my answer, as if it was the only one he would have been happy with.

"Sleep on it, and in the morning we will discuss it and hopefully come to a decision." he conceded, then moved off, heading outside to patrol. He was gone a long while and in that time I debated with myself about Sean. I made a mental Pro/Con list in my head, using my fingers to keep track of each. I began with the bad.

'Ok, the cons are that he hurt me and could potentially hurt others. If he flies into a rage, he could give away our position and get us into a sticky situation. If he _has _gotten worse, he may be a danger to Leon. He is tricky and plays mind games. He would be bad for the groups team work and morale.' The list went on. When I couldn't possibly think of another negative what if situation, I started on the pros.

'It's another person on our side. He's trained to fight. He may have other tricks to kill the possessed. It helps Charlie and Jeep to know that there are others out there like us who are willing to fight. He is a living, breathing human being who deserves a second chance. He's good at heart..' On and on I went, eventually losing track as I had with the cons. As more time passed I still hadn't reached a decision. I glanced around and saw that everyone was asleep, and Gabriel was still gone. I got up quietly and ensured that the door leading to the hallway was locked before heading out the front myself, closing the door behind me.

"Gabriel." I called in a whisper.

"Gabe." I called again, waiting. Soon I heard the flap of wings and Gabriel touched down in front of me, looking exhausted. I smiled,

'I knew he would be tired.'

"Gabe, why don't you go inside and get some rest? I can take over watch till dawn. I don't think I'll be sleeping anyway." I offered, hoping his pride wouldn't force him to decline. He looked taken aback, perhaps that I had noticed, or at the offer, but nodded anyway. He thanked me and hid a yawn before going inside to sleep. When I was finally alone I let out a long sigh, letting my tense muscles relax. I winced slightly as I stretched. Sometime during the day I had picked up a crick in my neck. I laughed a little, quietly.

"What I wouldn't give for a good massage right about now." I sighed to the empty air. For the life of me I nearly expected to feel hands on my shoulders, or to hear the near silent flap of wings. Instead I was met with a cold breeze. I shivered lightly and shook my head to clear my thoughts. With one last sigh I began to walk the perimeter, searching the night for any movement. The night was still, eerily so. It had been that way since extermination began, no humans means no loud noises. By the time dawn came I was glad that the night was over, and I had finally come to a decision. For better, or for worse.

_A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! This is just a reminder that I will be doing interviews for the characters, so if you have any questions, just PM me with the question using the story they are from in the subject line._


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